Cat acne? HELP

[flying_babyb]

Ok my cats got zits, like big ole black heads. I swear Ive tried everything:
acne pads
Skin clenser
shaving her chin
Biore strips

All these only led to one ticked off cat! shes very angry. Any suggestions that can get us though the two weeks till we see the vet?

 

[MsLeFever]

Biore strips? I'm sorry but that just make me snort. That cat must be hating you about now. (this is from a kitty mommy that once gave mine an enema!)

When my kitty was zitty the doctor told us that it was probably an allergy - maybe try a different food?

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

our vet recommended the pads, but we just opted for soap and water. When they were bad we did have to do a warm pack thing. Yeah, they get really ticked! It has to hurt when they get bad!

good luck!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Is it on her chin? That's typically caused by plastic dishes. Does she have a plastic water bowl or food bowl?

Both of my cats got it and we switched to ceramic and it cleared right up!

 

[SplshMtn99]

This is a completely new one on me. Cats get zits? Had cats all my life. Who knew?

Oh....and you use biore strips on a hairy part of your body you might be angry too. OUCH!!!!

 

[jobhunter]

What aimeedyan said, exactly.

Works like a charm! I guess it is an allergy to the plastic. Whatever it is, it's gross!

 

[themarquis]

lol! Biore strips!

A lot of youngish kitties get this on their chins... maybe just like teenage acne?

I agree that the plastic dishes may be a problem. I think the reason that plastic dishes sometimes cause problems is actually that it retains some of the greasiness from their food. The greasiness is what causes the acne. (this is what I recall from the vet)

So you might also want to switch to a metal dish and also wipe the kitty's chin after every meal.

But no more Biore strips! The kitty might scratch you up if you try it again!

 

[2BigKIdz]

sorry, no advice, poor kitty

I just wanted to say I have never heard of cat's having acne, I didn't know they could get zits!

 

[phragmipedium]

2nd the waterbowl concern. Switch to metal or ceramic and wash it out daily. My kitty had this issue too and it cleared it right up.

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

My 12 year old cat developed this on his chin and it was awful!! It was so swollen and *****. Just nasty! I read about the plastic verses metal bowl online but he had used his plastic bowl for years prior with no issues so I wasn't so sure that was the culprit. He was put on a lot of medications and just after that is when it started. I don't know if it was linked though.

Our vet put him on 2 rounds of antibiotics and I cleaned it with acne pads daily and it didn't get any better. So after about a month she gave him a shot of antibiotics and a steroid and that was what finally cleared it up. After the shot it was gone practically right away and never came back.

I hope your kitty gets better soon!

 

[EMom]

Try using a soft bristle toothbrush, perhaps soaked in very warm water....Brush/stroke the cat's chin area. They usually like this since it's like being scratched and the bristles clean any "junk" that is on/near the surface. It also must get blood flowing or something and seems to promote the junk coming from the deeper area out to the surface, so you can get rid of it. I found medicines, even those the vet prescribed, to be too harsh for my kitty.

 

[quasar4legs]

As my mum used to say "don't squeeze". But in this case she probably needed to say "or shave your chin". You are kidding, right????

Honestly, I wouldn't do anything other than try a different bowl. Let the vet handle this one, you could make the situation worse.
Hugs to your cat, it must run a mile when it sees you coming.

Hope your cat is OK.
Trish

 

[MickeysMommy]

Wow, I've never heard of this before...what does it look like in case Mickey gets it and I have no idea and freak out?

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

Is it on her chin? That's typically caused by plastic dishes. Does she have a plastic water bowl or food bowl?

Both of my cats got it and we switched to ceramic and it cleared right up!

that makes sense - and would explain why the cats I had years ago had it and the cats I have now do not get it! I don't use plastic any more.

at the time the vet just explained that they get the oils/fats from the food on their chin and can't clean there as well.

 

[E-I-E-I-O]

Also chiming in with the plastic food/water dish as being the culprit. And for the sake of the kitty, please stop the home treatments. Leaving it alone and switching bowls in the meantime will probably help a lot more until the vet can assess. I'm surprised it's taking 2 weeks to get an appointment though- even in a non emergency situation our vet can see us the same or following day.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Wow, I've never heard of this before...what does it look like in case Mickey gets it and I have no idea and freak out?

Just go to google, click images at the top & type in "cat acne". I did that last night. That's how you search for pictures of anything.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=cat+acne&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Here you go. As you can see, it might be any one of a number of problems causing the acne. Hormones, though, aren't one of them. So, no worries about her going through puberty or kitty menopause.

This is from: http://www.cats-and-facts.com/cat-acne.html

What causes cat acne?

Your cat's sebaceous glands produce an oil (sebum). It waterproofs your cat's fur, lubricates the skin and is also used for territorial marking. Although researchers have not yet determined the exact cause, it has been suggested that overactive sebaceous glands play a key role in the development of feline acne.

If too much sebum is produced, hair follicles can become plugged and the comedomes will appear.


Some of the many other factors that can also play a role:

... existing allergies

... an already weakened immune system

... poor chin grooming - felines often miss their chins

... stress or a change in your cat's environment ...
moving, a new family member or maybe
a neighborhood bully cat is roaming around


Cat chin acne can appear as early as six months of age. It may surface only once, occur occasionally or be a life long problem for your pet. Hormones are not a factor, as they are in dogs. Both female and male cats of any breed can develop the acne and the severity of acne will vary from cat to cat.

shaving her chin

This one's a joke, right? I'm just picturing this cat walking around with a bald spot on her chin. How would shaving possibly help?

So you might also want to switch to a metal dish and also wipe the kitty's chin after every meal.

I thought this image was funny too. It wouldn't quite work for us, I'm afraid.

 

[tonilea]

I switched my cats from a low flat dish (glass pie pan) to a nice high sided cat dish. One of them developed acne almost immediately. When I switched back it went away.

I recommend a low flat dish and washing daily with a benzoyl peroxide shampoo until it clears up.

 

[flying_babyb]

my cats have metal troughs... er bowls (pigs all of um). All the remidies I tried were recommended by my old vet, whos baffled by this. The reason im waiting two weeks is to see the NEW vet. I shaved her chin hoping A) less fur= less acne B) eaiser to access to pop or clean the zits.... SO far the cat still loves me, crawls all over me (and my bed) everynight.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

My Jack gets massive zits on his chin occasionally (we use ceramic dishes so that's not what causes it). I mostly leave him alone but I dab some neosporin on there once or twice a day. I don't know if it is really beneficial but it *seems* to help them go away a little quicker.